What's Next for Sheamus After WWE Survivor Series 2015 Victory?

The tournament to crown a new WWE world heavyweight champion eventually counted for nothing, as Sheamus snuck in like a thief in the night to pinch the title from Roman Reigns' grasp.

The Irishman is now a four-time world champion and seemingly the new face of The Authority after Triple H raised his hand in celebration of the victory over Reigns.

There is an obvious direction for the new champion after his shock victory, but let's try to break down what the next few weeks hold for Sheamus, with Tables, Ladders & Chairs just three weeks away.

There is going to be some sort of ceremony to crown Sheamus as the new champion on Raw, which will no doubt lead to Reigns interrupting and demanding his mandatory rematch.

We're heading down a route similar to the one Daniel Bryan travelled a couple of years ago, when he was constantly knocked back by The Authority before overcoming the odds at WrestleMania to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

But will it take Reigns that long to claim the gold?

Sheamus will no doubt react by accepting the challenge and perhaps offering a cheap shot to Reigns to fire up the feud and get things moving quickly.

With only three weeks between pay-per-view shows, WWE has a challenge on its hands to make it as intense and intriguing a feud as possible in a short amount of time.

What we'll likely see is Reigns competing in the main event of Raw before Sheamus strolls down alongside Triple H and lays him out in the middle of the ring.

That will prompt Reigns to do the same on SmackDown a few days later, as the challenge to put some passion into the hastily developed feud continues. Reigns will be able to call on Dean Ambrose for support, however.

Sheamus' relationship with Triple H is also important, as it was one of the keys that made Seth Rollins a worthwhile and ultimately successful heel champion. He was able to call on The Authority for support whenever he needed it, which made him a much better heel, as it enabled him to duck out of challenges he should have lost.

The back-and-forth will continue in the ring as TLC approaches, but don't expect a quick revenge mission for Reigns over the Irishman. It's likely that Reigns will be screwed again at the pay-per-view, keeping things going into the early part of 2016.

It's there that Reigns may finally get retribution, pinning Sheamus at the Royal Rumble. 

To say this situation feels forced would be an understatement. Everyone expected either Reigns or Ambrose to turn heel at Survivor Series, which would have made for a thrilling few months as the two former best friends battled for the title.

But with Sheamus now at the head of the company and Reigns still a babyface, it will be a challenging few weeks for WWE Creative.